Fig. 6: Tissue architecture in human nervous tissue.

a, rCATS (gray, WGA-CF633) in temporo-medial cortex from a 35-year-old male patient undergoing epilepsy surgery, with staining for mature neurons (NEUN, orange, AF594) and excitatory synapses (HOMER1, green, AF488). Confocal overview (top) with progressive zooms (bottom). b, STED image (xy-STED) with zoom onto synapses with rCATS (top) and molecular information (bottom, confocal). c, Orthogonal views of imaging volume with rCATS (near-isotropic STED, gray) and HOMER1 (confocal, green). Arrowheads: positions of orthogonal views. N2V was applied to channels independently. rCATS was performed on surgery explants from n = 8 patients, and the best-preserved specimens were selected for display here and in Supplementary Fig. 24. d, rCATS (confocal, WGA-CF633) in archival human FFPE autopsy specimen of a 35-year-old female patient without brain pathology (postmortem interval >12 h, storage time 16 years). Progressive zooms in hippocampus. rCATS was performed in five slices from autopsy specimens of n = 2 individuals. e–i, rCATS in a patient with MOGAD. Archival FFPE tissue specimen from brain biopsy for histopathological diagnostics in a 53-year-old female patient. e, rCATS (top, WGA-CF633, confocal) and immunostaining for MOG (bottom, AF488, confocal). Absence of MOG indicates demyelination. f,g, Magnified confocal views. White voids indicate tissue edema. A subset of infiltrating immune cells features conspicuous rCATS labeling, likely reflecting intracellular accumulation of carbohydrate-containing myelin degradation products. h,i, rCATS (top), MOG immunolabeling (middle) and overlay (bottom, confocal) of blood vessels indicated in g. Perivascular inflammatory infiltrate displaces nervous tissue from vessel walls. Additional markers: Supplementary Fig. 26. Data are representative of n = 3 technical replicates from n = 1 patient with MOGAD. j,k, Peripheral human nerve (N. suralis) of a 44-year-old female patient, visualized by rCATS in FFPE nerve biopsy. j, Overview with rCATS (gray, WGA-CF633, confocal) and immunolabeling for MBP (red, AF488), with nerve and connective tissue sheath embedded in fatty/connective tissue. k, Higher magnification view, with rCATS (xy-STED) and MBP (confocal). Axons are enwrapped by myelin, with neurofilament H immunolabeling confirming ___location of central axon (Supplementary Fig. 27). rCATS data are representative of n = 2 technical replicates in n = 1 patient.